Carol’s fascination with Silas John Edwards, the title character of Apache Jesus, began when she was a reporter covering the White Mountain Apaches. She was invited to their Holy Ground to attend a religious ceremony based on his teachings. As she spent more time around the Fort Apache Reservation, she discovered many other intriguing facts about the medicine man, whose life spanned from the time of the Geronimo Wars into the middle of the 20th Century.

Silas John had been one of several extraordinary Apache religious leaders trying to help the Apaches deal with the stress of change and the loss of their freedom. To do this, Silas John developed unique ceremonies based on the old Apache teachings, Christian symbols and even the snake dance of the Hopi people.

Silas John’s personal power both helped and hurt individual Apaches. Like many political and religious leaders, his profound influence over others often corrupted him. He angered the US government and Christian missionaries, who feared he was becoming too powerful. The authorities imprisoned him on slim evidence for the murder of his wife. Later, the famous mystery writer Earle Stanley Gardner took up his cause in a magazine column called, “The Court of Last Resort.”

Carol did extensive research to make this book true to Apache culture and to include fascinating characters and events of the time period. She also used her personal knowledge of the area and its people. Carol has lived near the Fort Apache Reservation for more than 30 years, getting to know her Apache neighbors. They have been very generous in sharing stories and information about their customs with her. The Western settings are as vivid and intriguing as the book's complex characters because Carol spent many months traveling through the diverse landscapes and communities to capture the essence of each place.

Historical facts and Apache beliefs are blended in this novel. The plot uses traditional Apache myths to help explain the religious fears and hopes of the characters involved. Interestingly, some of the strangest parts of the plot and the most fantastic individuals in Apache Jesus are historically accurate.